Seasonal work: rules for entering Italy

“Seasonal work” means the employment relationship lasting between 20 days and 9 months.

The work activities that fall within the seasonal subordinate work quotas are exclusively the agricultural sector and the tourism-hotel sector.

The worker can enter Italy on the basis of a simple confirmation of hiring by the employer.

The issue of the residence permit for multi-year seasonal work does not exonerate the worker from requesting an entry visa annually to the Italian diplomatic or consular representation abroad.

The employer, Italian or foreigner regularly residing, who wants to hire a seasonal employee, must submit a request for authorization to work at the Single Desk for Immigration The submission of this request must take place within the quotas established by the Flows Decree and the time for release is 20 days, after which the employer will send the original clearance to the worker.

In addition, the employer must demonstrate the availability of accommodation for the foreign worker: the rent cannot be excessive in relation to the quality of the accommodation itself and not higher than 1/3 of the remuneration due to the worker.

The worker must present the authorization and passport, necessary to obtain an entry visa, to the Italian diplomatic mission of his country. Within 8 days of entering Italy, you must go to the Sportello Unico to sign the residence contract and request a residence permit.

The residence permit for seasonal work reasons allows you to carry out the activity for which the authorization has been issued and therefore does not allow you to carry out independent or subordinate activities.

The worker who has complied with the conditions of the residence permit, returning to his country upon expiry of the permit, has the right of precedence for seasonal work in the following year, compared to citizens of his own country who have never entered Italy for seasonal work.

If the foreign worker has worked as a seasonal worker in Italy at least once in the last 5 years, the employer can request the multi-year seasonal work permit from the Single Desk for Immigration, valid for a maximum period of 3 years.

The seasonal worker is one of the least protected categories and with inadequate guarantees for the type of arduous work that takes place. In recent years, efforts have been made to find packages of supplementary solutions to public health at a paltry cost that can be accessible both by the worker and by the employer, taking advantage of the tax advantages in terms of corporate welfare. For more information and instructions on how to access the supplementary Welfare packages, contact us.